


Don't know how to lose you: An Alice/Knave collection

by ferggirl



Category: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (TV)
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2015-02-04
Packaged: 2018-02-20 02:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 10,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2412158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferggirl/pseuds/ferggirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A place to put the Alice/Knave stuff that's a bit too short to stand on its own. These will be unrelated unless otherwise noted. Lots of AUs and what-ifs, because that's the world we live in, isn't it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Firsts and Lasts (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Alice/Will: the very first time they met was with their mouths.

She was 16 when she first met the Knave of Hearts. 

She’d gone looking for him, on a tip from one of the daisies of the eastern meadows. The flowers said he was smart, cunning, and that he hated the Queen as much as she did. They warned her that he was heartless.

They forgot to mention that he was handsome. (The roses would have told her.)

He was belly up to a bar, staring down at the grog in his glass, the only man in the tavern who was not, as far as Alice could see from her recently acquired spot in the shadows, either ancient or employed by the Queen. 

He looked young and lost, and she hoped that losing his heart didn’t make him cruel, because she was about to ask this complete stranger for a very large favor. 

She was already moving his way when the tavern door burst open and her three pursuers tromped in loudly. 

"There she is!"

He turned, like everyone else in the place, only he found her right behind him. She took a deep breath and grabbed his face, pulling him down for a kiss.

He tasted like ale and heartbreak. When she pulled back, he was sputtering. 

"I’m Alice. Now they think you’re with me, Knave," she whispered. "Shall we run, or are you the Queen’s man after all?"

"Bloody hell," he licked his lips and looked over her shoulder at the approaching soldiers. Then his hand slid down into hers and he tossed a coin to the bartender. "Let’s run then, Alice."


	2. Firsts and Lasts (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continued from ch. 1. Prompt: First/Last hug.

She meets Will Scarlett, the Knave of Hearts, with a staged kiss and a whispered suggestion to run. 

She’s 16, he’s intrigued, and they do. Run, that is. 

When she finally admits that she needs help to steal the Queen’s enchanted looking glass, he laughs and mutters something about bloody karma and destiny. He doesn’t say no.

It’s fun and they work well together and he sticks around. Until one night he wakes her by holding a knife to her throat. She struggles free, and hits him over the head with the cooking pot still sitting next to their banked fire. 

When he comes to, he remembers none of it. But he believes her. Then he tells her how his heart was stolen and how it can still be used by the Queen of Hearts to control him.  

"If she’s realized I’m with you," he says, "it’s not safe anymore. She’ll play with me for a bit and then have me kill you."

He says it with a dark sadness in his eyes, and she knows then that he’s come awake over someone else’s body, maybe more than once.

Alice doesn’t like bullies. As she watches him gather his things and prepare to strike off in the woods alone, she makes herself a promise.

She’s going to get his heart back.

She doesn’t tell him - it wouldn’t be right. If she fails and he is left hoping… instead she throws her arms around his shoulders and waits for him to hug her back. 

"I’ll miss you," she says. "I don’t have many friends left in Wonderland."

His arms finally come around her, and he leans his cheek against the top of her head. His voice is hoarser than usual.

"Just you stay alive, Alice," he says.

Then he’s gone.


	3. For Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: sleepy hug, hug for warmth.

"Will, you have to stay awake."

The wind howled cruelly around the rickety hut where they had taken shelter, and Alice tugged on his arm, trying to get him closer to the little fire she’d managed to eke out. It was crackling valiantly, but the heat didn’t reach far.

He shivered, and nodded, trying so hard to obey her. His clothes were soaked through, following a plunge into an icy river. She’d fished him out but Alice was worried she was going to lose him anyway.

Damn the Jafar for his weather curse. No one in Wonderland had seen winter like this in one hundred years. 

The snow was falling thick outside the window and her supply of burnable wood was far too scarce for comfort. She needed him to warm up so they could look for a better hideout. 

"Will," she swallowed and edged closer to him. He was curled in on himself, occasionally shivering. "I think you should take those wet things off."

"Ha-Haven’t any others, Alice," he managed through chattering teeth. "Want me n-naked, then?"

"I don’t want you dead," she said firmly. "Come on."

It took him some time to peel the cold layers from his damp skin. As he handed them to her she hung them over a sawhorse in the corner, hoping against hope that she wouldn’t need to burn that too. 

Finally he was in just a part of short pants, which were thin and clinging to him in ways that she was not prepared for. 

"Th-those too, Will. They’re wet."

He shot her an incredulous look. “No.”

"Don’t be a baby."

"N-No, Alice."

She threw up her hands and poked at the fire, worrying. He was still cold, and now he was unprotected. His skin glowed pale in the firelight, and there was a blue tinge to his lips. 

Her clothes were dry. Or mostly. But they weren’t much help to him. 

"Come here," she said, deciding. 

"P-pardon?"

"You’re going to freeze to death in your drawers so come here and let me warm you, please." She could feel her cheeks flush, but forced herself to meet his eyes.

"Bloody hell. I’ll just get you cold."

"You won’t. Let me help, Will."

He was quiet, not arguing, but not moving, either. 

Finally, she stood and walked around the fire to him. She sat behind him and put her legs on either side of his hips, wrapping her arms around his bare, chilled torso.

He flinched a bit, as though her touch shocked him, but she held on and scooted toward him until her chest was flush against his back. She rested her chin on his shoulder and felt him shiver violently. 

"Alice…"

"Warmer?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and she watched some of the ice melt out of his hair, dripping down his face and landing on the cold floor. She felt him draw in the breath to answer and tensed.

"Yeah, a bit," he admitted. "But you can’t be comfortable."

She shrugged. “If I hadn’t been distracted by the bottle, you wouldn’t have fallen in the first place. I’m fine.”

******

Will felt the feeling returning to his extremities with vicious pins and needles. He’d been dubious when she’d told him to take his clothes off, but he had to admit that he felt much better now. Part of that, of course, was Alice wrapping her arms and legs around him. 

This was not how he’d envisioned that happening. But a man learned to adjust his expectations when he traveled with Alice.

When he leaned forward to add another of their precious logs to the fire, he felt her slide with him, her hands loosening.

She’d fallen asleep. 

He bit back a smile and finished adjusting the little fire. Then he turned and lifted her into his arms, settling against one of the posts in the little shack. 

"My turn," he said as she nuzzled her head into his bare chest. Her hair tickled his stomach and he was very relieved that his boxers had, at least, dried off.

Still, he was practically naked, and holding a boneless, sleeping Alice in his arms. Another instance of adjusting expectations, he thought with a sigh. 

"Sleep well," he murmured. "One of us should."


	4. Glimmer of a plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt line: "Are we really going to try to pretend this doesn't change things?"

Will pulled his hands from her grasp, glancing at the genie’s bands around each wrist. There was a desperation in her voice that cut him to the core. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

"Alice, Cyrus is free. You’ve done what you came here to do. Leave while you still can." She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Or better yet, let me wish you two gone."

They’d found his bottle, and Alice had been the one to summon him. He was relieved. It was far too early to trust Anastasia and even he could see the foolishness of burdening Cyrus when he was so recently free. So here she was, the three wishes in her hand, held tightly enough to slice her skin. 

She was the last one to talk to him. Anastasia was sulking under a tree. Cyrus had looked troubled, but agreed to respect his decision. 

She’d come storming in, eyes bright with anger and determination. He thought she looked beautiful, and wondered how he was supposed to resist her. 

"No." 

"Alice."

"I can’t, Will, how can you ask me to?" She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, taking a few deep breaths through her nose to hold her tears at bay. He wanted to rage at her to leave, he wanted to hold her until her sadness passed, he wanted her here and gone and she made everything worse and better. "You came here because I made you. You stayed to help me. And you think I will just leave you like this? Trapped in place of Cyrus?"

He was silent, watching her struggle. Any words he found now would lead them down a path she had never wanted to take. He would not add his feelings to the weight she carried. 

"We’ll find another way," she promised. "Somehow. We’ll put Jafar in the damn bottle instead."

She said it thoughtlessly, a throwaway remark to make a general point. But he couldn’t help the hope that kindled in his eyes. And when she raised her own face to his, he saw the same inspiration there. 

"Bloody hell, Alice," he whispered raggedly. "I think you might actually have a plan."

She laughed, tears sparkling in her eyes, and threw her arms around him.

"Silly Will," she said. "I always have a plan. Mostly it’s ‘go and fix the problem. bring Will along.’ But I’m trying to branch out."

He hugged her back, the feel of her like a warm spring breeze after a stretch of bitter cold. Then she pulled away, grabbing one of his hands and tugging him toward the others. 

"If Jafar wants genies so badly, let’s see how he likes becoming one," she said loudly, including Cyrus and Anastasia in the conversation. Will followed obediently, and didn’t miss the way both of them looked first at their linked hands, then at Alice’s excited face.

Oh god, was he in trouble. 


	5. Seeing Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Seeing Red + Knalice

The first time he yells at her is when Alice wears red. 

It’s a gorgeous dress, just her style, that she’d gotten a deal on in the last town. She thinks she looks quite nice and she spins in excitement.

"Are you ready, Will? The ball will start soon and we mustn’t be late if we’re to surprise Jafar at his own coronation."

"Take it off."

She stops, turning to look at his. “What?”

"You aren’t wearing that. Wear anything else. Take it off." He’s cold and angry and she’s immediately offended. 

"I’ll have you know that I quite like this dress, and you can just look the other way if it troubles you," she snaps. But beneath her bravado, she’s hurt. Alice has grown used to the way his eyes light up when he sees her. They don’t talk about it, but that glow of approval, of appreciation always warms her weary heart.

She moves toward the door, noting sulkily that his suit is quite handsome, and finds him blocking her path. 

"Will, this is brutish and absurd. Honestly," she scolds. 

"TAKE THE BLOODY DRESS OFF, ALICE!" 

The silence is thick after his hoarse yell fades. He’s the first to turn away from her wide eyes. He rubs a hand over his face and sighs. 

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry."

"Will," she slips out of the cute crimson jacket, laying it over a chair, and wraps her blue shawl around her. "What on earth is the matter?"

"It’s that stupid color," he says. "I do believe she’s ruined it for me."

How could she not have realized? “Of course it - I should have known,” she says softly, laying a hand on his arm. It’s been hard for all of them, after Anastasia’s sacrifice, but none moreso than Will. Will, who will now never get to give her what she so desperately wanted - his forgiveness. 

Cyrus ducks in, leading their horses and smiling grimly. Alice is dismayed to find him an intrustion, an unwanted third party to this intimate moment. 

"Are we all ready?" the former genie asks, his brow creasing as he looks between the two of them, then down at her hand on Will’s arm. "Everything all right?"

Alice summons up a smile. “Yes, only I just realized this doesn’t fit as well as I’d thought. I won’t be a moment, just need to change quickly.”

As she turns, pulling her hand away, Will grabs at it and squeezes it gently. His eyes are swimming in gratitude.

She can salvage the dress, she reasons. A quick dye job, if they make it through tonight, and she’ll have a royal purple gown to dance all night in.

Red has never been her color, anyway. 


	6. Hold my hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: hold my hand + knalice

"Alice."

He’s pacing. He knows she was here. That’s the only way they could have known about his heart. They’ve thrown Ana in front of him time and time again, and he does not want to see her in pain, no matter what she’s done to him. 

But if the Jabberwocky is searching for his deepest fear, she will not find it with Anastasia. 

It stops being a fear when it comes true. Once you’ve faced it in the cold light of morning, seen the woman you love turn away from you, it can fade into a cool regret. 

Alice has left him with no regrets. Only hopes. Dreams. Longing that he didn’t think possible, not any longer. 

And now they know where his heart is.

"She’ll find it," Ana calls to him. Her tears have long since dried. The look on her face reminds him painfully of Lizard, and he wonders when he acquired so many hearts he did not seek. "You know she will."

"And then what, Ana?" He’s frantic now. His blood chills to think of the fear that will course through his veins once his heart beats in his chest again. "Where can she hide it that Jafar won’t follow her?"

She’s silent. He sinks to his bench and wishes — a useless exercise for a genie — that the box is gone, that none of them can find his hiding place, that Alice stays safe and far away in Storybrook. 

But Alice will never. Brave, noble Alice can no more leave him here in danger than she can walk away from an unfair fight. 

He hopes Cyrus is smarter. 

"What a mess we’ve made of things," Ana says. "You and I. Loving the wrong people, learning to be noble at the wrong time."

The door at the top of the stairs slams open, and they can hear the triumphant cadence of Jafar’s crowing as he descends. 

"Will Scarlett," Ana’s standing up, reaching out to him, her arms too short to touch his bars. "I do believe I am about to die. Won’t you hold my hand, if you can’t forgive me?"

He only hesitates a moment before he reaches out and takes it, remembering a time when that little hand had meant everything to him. Perhaps if it still did, there might be some hope. 

"Thank you." She squeezes, tears streaming down her face. ”And remember, you fool, she’s the best of us. Alice. If anyone will come through, she will. Be strong.”

"I wanted you dead once," he says. "I don’t any longer, Ana. I suppose that’s forgiveness."

She smiles brokenly. “I’ll accept that, then.”

Then Jafar and his Jabberwockey are there, and his world explodes in emotion and blood and pain. 

He keeps one word running through his mind, a refrain his long-neglected heart is quick to echo. 

_Alice._


	7. Ain't that a kick in the head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Kick in the head + knalice

In the end, it wasn’t his heart giving them all the trouble. 

It was his head.

The same head he was currently holding in both hands while he knelt on the ground.

"Alice!" Will pulled his left hand away and looked at the blood on his fingers. "Was that really the best plan you had?"

She was on her knees next to him, one hand on her sword, the other pulling his hand away so she could look at the blood on his scalp. 

"Well you weren’t…  _you_ , Will, and the only other suggestion from the crowd was to take your heart back out and control you.” 

He winced as she found the tender spot and to distract himself, looked up at Cyrus’s scowl and Ana’s unapologetic shrug. They were different, these resurrected versions. It was like they were missing something intrinsic to their personalities, their humanity. 

"It would have a better guarantee of success," Ana said with disinterest. "This is taking too long."

"To be fair, my solution was just to kill him." Cyrus had been glaring at Will from the moment his revived form had found them. It wasn’t anywhere near as subtle as he’d been… before.

"Well I prefer the kick to the head, then, thanks." Will turned to Alice just as she leaned in to get a closer look. Their noses bumped and for a second he froze, close enough to feel the warmth of Alice’s blush. 

"I’m beginning to wonder if we can trust either of them," Alice whispered, her breath fanning his ear.

"About bloody time," he muttered in answer. "I’m pretty sure that was Ana’s spell just now that had me trying to kill you. Sorry about that, by the way."

She smiled, and he could feel it, the way her lips moved and her breathing changed. “It’s all right,” she said. “I could tell your heart wasn’t in it.”


	8. One too many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Drunk kiss

His ears are a bit large. Alice catches herself attempting to measure the distance they stick out from either side of his head and can’t hold back the giggles when Will turns and quirks an eyebrow at her. 

"And just what are you doing?" He’s still nursing the same ale he’d ordered when they ducked into this dive to escape a patrol of soldiers. He seems tense and alert, and she feels suddenly guilty for her loose good humor. 

"I was attempting to do a sum in my head," she mutters, looking down at her empty tankard. "But it’s possible I may have had one too many for mathematics problems."

He’s scanning the room — for the Queen’s spies, Jafar’s minions, anyone who might work for the Caterpillar — and she can see the minute her words actually process through his hard head with the big ears.

"Hold on." Will swipes her empty tankard away from her. "How many?"

Her shrug is meant to be small and innocent, but somewhere between her brain and her shoulders it becomes exaggerated and she winds up laughing into her hand at the way her limbs bounce around. 

His nice eyes take her measure, and then he shakes his head and downs the rest of his ale in one large swallow. 

"Come on then," he swings an arm under he shoulders. "We’re going."

That’s devastating news for some reason, and she moans about it, and drags her feet all the way to the door. It doesn’t help that he’s laughing. 

"You’re mean, Will Scarlett," she mutters once the cold air hits her face and he’s aimed her down the road. "I liked it in there."

"You liked the ale, and I wager that’s the end of it," he says. "What am I going to do with you now?"

She swings around in front of him, startling him to a halt. “Kiss me.” It’s the obvious choice, really. 

"Alice," he sighs, attempting to turn her around so she’ll move. "You’re talking nonsense."

She digs in her heels and grins up at him. The moon is bright and the wind is cold and she never really minded his ears, they’re just part of Will and she likes Will. 

"Am not. And I shan’t move until you do it." She leans closer, looping her arms around his neck. "Kiss me."

There’s something in his eyes that starts her stomach turning flips and makes her breath shallow. He looks almost angry with her, and tries to dislodge her from her position up against him. 

"This isn’t funny, Alice."

She tugs on his neck and feels the resistance there. But his hands are on her waist and he’s very close and she’s always,  _always_  wondered what his full lips would feel like on hers. 

"I’m not laughing," she whispers. Then she pushes up onto her toes and finds his mouth with her own. It’s firm and warm and after a few seconds he makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat and hauls her closer still. When his lips move against hers she sighs in pleasure. 

Before she has had nearly enough, he breaks away and hauls her up into his arms. She leans her head on his shoulder as they start off down the road. 

"This is foolish, Knave," she says after they’ve passed several dark houses. "I’m perfectly capable of walking." Although she’s very comfortable, leaning against his chest.

"Aye, that you are," he says wryly. "And you’re also  _perfectly capable_  of accosting me on a crowded street. Go to sleep, Alice. The ale will likely give you a right awful head come morning.”

She means to protest. But the steady rhythm of his steps and the beating of his heart lull her into silence, and she contents herself with playing a hand through his hair. 

The last thing she remembers is his lips on her forehead as he murmurs, “Bloody hell, woman. Are you trying to kill me?”

******

He wakes her early the next morning, and every snapping twig seems louder than usual to Alice’s pounding head. Her stomach turns at the offered porridge, and she only reluctantly accepts the water he presses on her.

Will asks what she remembers with color burning in his cheeks. She says it all got a bit blurry after the tavern. His face falls with a mixture of relief and disappointment, and he heads off to gather wood for a fire. 

When he’s gone she lays back down and traces her lips with her finger. Blurry it might be, but she remembers every moment of his mouth on hers, and she’s not sure she’s ever fallen asleep feeling more safe than when his heartbeat was her lullaby. 

She’ll tell him. One day, when her head hurts less and he is more willing to meet her eyes. But for now she can enjoy her memories. 


	9. Shut up and kiss me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: argument --> kiss

"That is the stupidest bloody plan I’ve heard in a very long time, Alice. No way. No."

Will could hear the note of pleading that crept into his voice, and countered by clenching his jaw and giving her his best glare in the dim forest light.

"We can’t just sit here and do nothing!" She dashed away an angry tear and concentrated on putting more wood on their fire. "This is my fault. I have to fix it."

Anastasia and Cyrus had both been raised from the dead by Jafar, but he’d brought them back as very different people. People with no memories of love, no desire for goodness. When he and Alice had exhausted their efforts to remind their friends of themselves and finally fled the castle, the two had laughed and alerted the guards. 

"We finally got clear, he’s got half the kingdom out looking for us," he said. "You’re not going back. Not even if it could break this cursed darkness."

They hadn’t seen the sun in three days. All of Wonderland was cowering in the shadows. Jafar’s power seemed limitless. 

"We’re out of options, Will," she snapped, standing with her back to the small campfire. Her hair was down and her eyes were wild. Will thought she was beautiful and angry and sad, and it was breaking his heart. "He changed the laws of magic. True love’s kiss didn’t work!"

He turned away from her then. “No, kissing Cyrus didn’t work.”

"How dare you!" She pulled him back around furiously. "You kissing Anastasia didn’t exactly solve anything either."

"Of course not!" he yelled. "She’s not my bloody true love, now is she?"

Silence fell in the little grove, broken only by the crackle and pop of the old wood as it burned cheerfully in the background. Now he’d done it. Will ran a hand over his face and waited for the inevitable.

"Will Scarlett, you look me in the eye and you tell me exactly what you mean by that." She wasn’t slow on the uptake, his Alice.

There was still fury in her eyes, but it was tempered by something else. She was holding her breath, and her strong hands were closed into tight fists. 

He couldn’t put this on her, not now. Not with the whole world falling apart. He took a step toward her. “Alice.”

She took a small step back, holding one hand up to stop him. “What did you mean?” she whispered.

Bloody hell. 

"The truth?" Her nod was short. "I didn’t want this for Anastasia, and I’ll save her if I can. But not with true love’s kiss. I don’t love her anymore. It’s you, Alice. It’s been you ever since I met you, I think. I just didn’t know for a while. All that not having a heart nonsense confused the issue, I think."

She made a little noise in her throat and brushed past him, moving outside the circle of light to stand in the forest’s shadows. 

Will kept talking. Might as well. “I got…  _used_  to thinking of Ana like that. And then I saw you again, in that bloody madhouse, and I would have told you anything to make you come with me. To come away from there. And when I got my heart back, when they put it inside of me and told me to think of her, it was your face I saw, and your voice I heard.”

“ _Will._ ”

He still couldn’t see her face. He waited a few breaths and when she didn’t continue, he did. “I know you love the genie. I do. And I’ll do whatever I can to get him back for you. But not this. Not you running off to sacrifice yourself because you think all hope is lost. I can’t watch you do that.”

Something tapped on his shoulder, and he spun to find that she had crept up behind him. There were tears running down her cheeks. All the anger was gone. 

"Why did you never say?"

He felt one half of his mouth pull up in a lopsided smile. “What and give that handsome genie something else to feel superior about? No thank you.”

"For a knave of hearts, you’re a bit dim in the romantic department, aren’t you?" He froze, eyes wide as she stepped closer to him. "Or did it escape your notice that Cyrus and I were just as unable to break the curse as you and Ana?"

He let one hand brush the tears off of her face, and wondered at the purpose in her eyes. “I wouldn’t say it escaped my notice,  _exactly_ …”

"It’s possible I also, er, got used to a certain idea of love. You might have noticed I can be slightly stubborn at times?" She was standing so close to him now that a slight lean would bring them together. 

"Slightly? Alice, I believe the word you are looking for is "indescribably" or "immensely" or…"

"Shut up and kiss me, Knave."

He did. Their lips met in a burst of light and magic, and if Will had looked up he might have seen Jafar’s curse falling to pieces around them. 

But he did not look up. He had Alice in his arms at last, and he was not planning to look up anytime soon. 


	10. Bandersnatch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Oh fuck. Oh FUCK." + Knalice

"Oh fuck, oh FUCK." One minute they were walking side by side, the next the ground gave way beneath her and she was just gone. The hole was dark and deep and why hadn’t he heard her land? "Alice!"

For a moment that felt like a year, the whole forest was silent. Will was relatively certain his stupid bloody heart had somehow wrapped tendrils around his lungs because he couldn’t breathe. 

"Will! It’s some kind of strawberry jam!" Her laughter was distinct, and he dropped to his knees in relief. "Terribly sticky, and it’s quite dark down here, but I think I see a way out."

"Well just, don’t do anything stupid, if you don’t mind," he rasped out. "Here, I’ll drop you a light."

It took a minute to fashion a workable torch, and another few to get a fire capable of catching hold in the moss and torn fabric of his shirt. 

"Alice?" He dipped the torch down, hoping to have a view of her, but it only illuminated the ceiling of the immense cave. 

"Will, we might in fact have a problem." Her voice was clear and closer than before. She must have seen the light and moved back toward him. "It’s not jam after all."

"What the hell do you mean?" His eyes strained to find her in the darkness, and his traitorous heart, so recently reintroduced, picked up its pace. "Alice!"

"I think I’d like that light, if you please," she called calmly. "I seem to remember it being one of the things that might dissuade this Bandersnatch from eating me."

"Oh FUCK." He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. There was nothing else for it. She couldn’t fight a Bandersnatch on her own. "Hang on, I’m coming down."


	11. Cave of memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Don’t listen to them. Don’t you EVER listen to them."

She hadn’t even realized he’d followed her into the cave until she backed into his solid chest, tears streaming down her face. 

"Don’t listen to them." He spun her to face him, a fierce light in his eyes. "Don’t you EVER listen to them, Alice. It isn’t true."

"Of course it is," she answered with a bitter laugh. "It’s a cave of  _memories_. They’re only saying things they’ve already said to me.”

"Then we’ll walk back outside and I’ll come in first, and it’ll be my bad memories yelling nasty things at us." He glared over her head at the projection of Alice’s father who was solemnly, sadly repeating that she was mad and must go away.

"I don’t think it works that way, Will." But she dried her eyes and turned back to her tormentors. Father, step-mother, half-sister, friends. All stuck repeating back the moment they’d given up on her, the reasons she’d lost them forever.

Wonderland could be a sore trial sometimes. 

But at the other end of this cave was one of the only ways to calm the dead Jafar had woken and forced into his service. They needed it.

"How did you get in here, anyway?" she asked. "The guard was quite clear that only one may enter."

"The guard and I had a slight… disagreement. We’re a team, Alice. We go in together."

He came to stand beside her and she smiled. Will Scarlett. The knave of hearts. Scoundrel and thief known throughout Wonderland as selfish and unreliable. 

Always there when she needed him most. 

Alice reached out and slid her hand into his. The ghosts of her pasts felt a bit less substantial with him at her side.

"Best get going, then," she said. "Come on, I’ll give you a tour of my sad, sorry life. You’ve already met my father…"


	12. What kind of rescue is this?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: first line

"So, this is really unexpected--and by unexpected I mean I'm not completely sure I'm not hallucinating you."

Alice's heart stuttered to a halt at the sound of that voice, and then restarted in double time, relief flooding her veins. 

"And just what kind of rescue do you call this?" he grumbled as she stood, frozen.

She’d been trying to get into the Red Keep for a week, ever since Will was taken, with no luck, only to find him strolling down the road in his underthings with no sense of direction.

"The kind where I buy you a new shirt, apparently. Hurry up, they’re coming."

Alice had been told, over and over, by her mother, her father, her one-time friends, her comrades-in-arms, and her enemies that the ending was what mattered. Whether it was happy or sad, who you were standing with when the story was finally over was a fixed point.

She had long ago decided how her story must end: she would save Cyrus, and live happily ever after with him.

But as she ducked behind a tree and waited for the Red Queen’s men to thunder past, dragging Will by the hand behind her, something clicked into place in her heart.

The end of her story was still being written, and she liked the feel of Will’s hand in hers.


	13. No way out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: No Way Out + Knalice

Magic arcs around his bottle as he watches Alice’s face crumple at the sight of Cyrus’s still form. 

Will has lost Ana, and the heart that beats in his chest tells him it matters, even if the love he felt for her so many years ago is now different and faded. It turns out that storing a heart in a box isn’t enough to keep it from changing. 

He’d been so sure he’d love her forever, just out of spite. 

But that’s not how love works. 

He wonders what the other genies are feeling — whether they know what’s going on. At least his bottle has the grating so he can watch Jafar’s eyes glaze over a burning white, and see Alice’s heart break in front of him. 

_You think your love story is the only one worth fighting for._

His own words echo through the despair that fills his soul. He had pushed her to come back because he thought he owed Ana that much. But also because it’s what Alice would do. He would never have Alice, not while she had her Cyrus to idolize. Ana said she loved him.  

Lifetimes have been built on less. And Alice had smiled when he’d spoken of Ana with forgiveness. 

So he pushed Alice to come back, and now he’s cost her the only thing he’s ever really wanted her to have: happiness. 

All of Alice’s warnings about trusting Jafar, about messing with magic, play through his head. Suddenly he can see the costs, the scenes coming alive — Ana lives but is no longer herself and stands by Jafar, Alice fights Cyrus who shows no mercy and no recognition. When she kills him, she turns to face Will and the blame in her eyes is enough to bring him to his knees. 

He’s gasping for air, and the magic draining out of him is a tangible force, shimmering and twisting as it goes. 

Amara blinks, and for a moment her eyes are not white like Jafar’s, but almost cat-like, and stunningly familiar.  _The Jabberwocky._

Will tries to shout, to cry out to Alice that they’ve been betrayed, that she needs to go because he can handle anything else but he can’t lose her. Not like this. He shakes at the grating and wills it to move with whatever little magic is left in him.

But there’s no way out. 

Then not-Amara winks, and he’s thrown back against the side of his bottle hard enough to see stars. 

After a moment the room grows still and she and Jafar face each other with cool smiles. 

"Well, my dear, shall we show Alice what real power is?" Jafar croons, and Will finds his shackles gone, along with any power. 

"Amara, please." Alice is crying, kneeling over Cyrus. "He’s your son. Help us!"

"Oh, Alice," she coos, her head tilting unnaturally to the side. Will can see Jafar stiffen and Alice’s eyes widen in understand. "I asked you for help not so long ago. You sent me away. I don’t know why you would expect any in return."

She sniffs the air and all of them, even Jafar, go white with fear. She shakes her head and returns to her true form, sauntering to the table to claim a twisted dagger. 

"Here is my help, I leave you alive."

Then she’s gone, and Will can speak again, and Jafar is laughing delightedly. 

"Alice, run!"

They both look at him then. Jafar’s smile is almost sunny, and it sits uncomfortably on his face. 

"Yes, Alice, why don’t you run along. I have some things to take care of before I deal with you and the rest of Wonderland." He lifts the bottle and shakes it, listening as Will pinballs off the sides. "I’ll even let you take your useless genie. The one that’s still alive."

Then the bottle flies through the air into Alice’s hands. Will can feel her hesitation.

"This isn’t over, Jafar."

"No, but why don’t you go enjoy the last few days of your irritating little life while I decide how to kill you." Then he waves his hand and there’s a rush of magic and with a pop, the scene through the grating changes.

It’s his old flat, in Storybrook. Alice gives the bottle a half-hearted rub. 

He materializes just in time to catch her as she sinks to the floor in tears of defeat. 

"It’s just - just like last time." She buries her head in his shoulder and he just hangs on. Every sob, every heartbeat is a victory to him. She’s still alive. All is not lost. 

"Not exactly like last time," he says after she quiets. She’s exhausted, and doesn’t stir when he lifts her. "You’ve got me."

He wishes it were enough. He knows it’s not. So he tucks her into his bed and stares out the window at Granny’s. He needs a drink and a new plan.


	14. Every advantage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: hug for warmth

She’s so cold. 

That’s what’s scaring him the most. He’s bound her wounds up, and they’ve got shelter and he’s even scrounged some bread and cheese. 

But Alice is cold to the touch.

Will had thought, when he made his wish in that far field, that it was over. They’d found her genie, and then the sorcerer had sent that storm after them. Harming Will to hurt Alice.

He was bloody well having none of that.

So he’d done what he knew he had to do. Wished her free. Of everything. All of the suffering.

She’d warned him often that the wishes carried terrible consequences. Being turned into a bloody genie himself was unexpected, but he wasn’t dead and she was finally safe. 

So he’d thought.

Instead, she’s here. With him.

Cyrus and Anastasia, magically linked and in the bottle together, each wearing one of the genie’s cuffs, are battling Jafar from within his own stronghold. 

Alice was with them when they found the bottle and freed him. And she’d guarded his back as they snuck it back into Jafar’s own office.

But he’d been too slow to guard hers.

It was a trip jinx, a booby trap that he’d casually stepped over hundreds of times in his thieving days, magnified by Jafar’s power. She’d been looking at him, biting her lip in the way she does when she’s not sure how to say something.

And he’d not warned her in time. 

She shivers, and he pulls himself from his contemplation of his guilt to put a hand to her cool forehead. Her eyes flutter open, and he sighs in relief.

"Alice?"

"Will, is that you?" 

"Of course it’s bloody me, who else would haul you from a floating castle as it falls to bits?"

She smiles and reaches toward his arm, missing by a few inches.

"Can you light a candle? It’s so dark and cold. I can hardly see."

He takes her hand in his own with a worried look. “Alice, it’s midday. The sun is shining.”

She’s very quiet then. She shivers a few more times, and he sits on the edge of the bed and pulls her onto his lap. His callused hands run up and down her arms, trying to will warmth into them even as he watches her face crumple.

"Alice, no," he says. "We’ll fix it."

"We can’t do anything," she says, turning to press her face to his chest in order to hide her tears. "Not if I can’t see."

He holds her then, as she cries. Tighter than he’s ever let himself hold her before. And he feels his worry and fear settle into decision. Will knows what they have to do next. 

It’s time to get his heart back. He’s going to need every advantage he’s got, if he’s going to make this right. 

Loving Alice is a big advantage.


	15. Bow to no queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: medieval au

He had caught a poacher leaving the Queen’s wood with a string of hares beneath a long cloak. 

"Now, boy, hand those to me and I’ll say I’ve not seen you," he sighed. Being a knight of the royal court should be an honor, a task he upheld with pride. 

Of late, it had felt more like a burden for him to lay on ill-fed and unhappy folk like this lad.

"And if I refuse?" The boy’s voice was high and clear, and Will noted a small hand drift to what was most likely a hidden dagger. 

"Then you force me to take you in for execution," he said, drawing his own sword. "The Queen permits none to hunt in these woods."

"Then you are as heartless as they claim, knave," the boy spat.

The hood of the cloak fell back as the poacher’s sword rang free. It was a full blade, surprising enough in these parts, but more surprising was what the cloak revealed.

She was a woman, fierce and quite beautiful. 

They met in a clash of swords. Hers rang true, but his had the force of his weight and larger size behind it. 

He stared her down through their crossed swords. “Heartless, is it? Who would dare to say such a thing of a knight of the Queen’s guard?”

She parried, driving him back a step. Her grey eyes lit with a fire that sparked an answering flame deep in his cold, abandoned heart.

"My name is Alice, and I bow to no queen."


	16. Try the waffles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Alice/Knave, stranded at Denny's/college au

"At least we’ll never starve," Will’s munching a bit too loudly, eyeing the stack of pancakes just delivered to the table behind her. So she kicks him. "Ow! I’m just bloody eating, here."

"Yes, well you’ve been  _just bloody eating_  for the last two hours,” Alice hisses. “Need I remind you that the bus pulled away without us because you were on the damn payphone having another fight with Anastasia? All of my clothes! My letters from home…”

He swallows, and sets down his fork. “I know, Alice, I’m sorry. We’ll get them back, we just have to wait out the night here and call the bus company once they open again in the morning. Here,” he slides his plate across to her, “try the waffles.”

******

Alice falls asleep on her arm around 4 am. Will knows this because the waitress comes over to refill his coffee and checks her watch with a sympathetic look in her eye.

"Still here at 4 am when you came in at 11… you and your girlfriend miss the bus, honey?"

He nods, then realizes what he’s agreed to. “Not my, she’s not actually my girlfriend, I sort of have, there’s this other girl… Alice is my  _friend_. We have all sorts of classes together. She needed a place to go for the holidays cause her dad’s a total dick and I just couldn’t leave her in the dorms alone. We’re on our way back and it’s my fault we’re stuck here.”

He stares over at Alice, face scrunched in irritated sleep, and his heart twists a little like it always does when she is unhappy. He hates to see her unhappy.

The waitress, Liz by her nametag, winks at him. “Well you call her whatever you like. I won’t tell. Shout if you need me, dear.”


	17. The Knave and the Naiad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Ancient Greece au

The naiad stood, proud and tall before him, her robes glistening with the brightness of water on a sunny day. 

"Are you still here? Begone, I want you not."

The water trembled beneath her rage, and he strove to stand his ground, well aware that she could end him with one thrust of her blade.

"Have you forgotten them all, then?" he pushed, desperate to make her see. "Once you were no more than a woman, a warrior and a friend to many. To me, Alice. With your help, we completed a task set by Aphrodite herself - but in her jealousy she cast you out of your father’s memories."

"My tears were so salty they reached Poseidon," she murmured, as if remembering the distant past. "He granted me this sacred pool, to find peace and empty my heart of the feelings I could no longer bear. How dare you disturb me only to… reawaken them."

The light around her softened, and he took courage, holding out his hand in supplication.

"Your father yet lives, but the city is in grave danger. There is fell magic, and the gods are stubbornly silent. Your father suffers and weakens in its hold."

"It is no longer my fight," she said, but she was gazing at his hand in indecision. When she touched it with her own, their eyes met in shock, for with that touch, her heart remembered and his felt her pain.


	18. Hold my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: first sentence.

This was the second time Will had seen Alice - felt Alice - with her hands about his heart and both times felt exactly as awkwardly intimate.

But this time there was a difference.

He’d been grateful, but in pain the first time she’d given it to him. She’d done him a friend’s service, more than a friend should ever have to do, and he’d been so grateful to leave his life as the heartless Knave behind. If her hands around his beating heart had left him a bit breathless, he’d thought nothing of it.

Now, however, he was fully aware of the power she had. 

Not that he feared her harming him. Alice would never, not intentionally. Not even, he’d learned to his amazement, with Cyrus hanging in the balance. No, she’d find a way to save them both and damn the choice. 

The power was of a different sort. 

It was the way her long fingers curved gently around that pulsing red thing he’d disdained for so many long years. The way his blood sang out in reply, calling for the return of what he’d been running from. Emotion. Truth. Love. Alice.

Because she had, he was horrified to find, left her mark on his heart the very first time she had touched it. He’d never taken it back, not fully, hiding it away from those who would use it against him and living life in the grey edges of freedom from feeling. He’d never thought to let anyone touch it again.

Her hands were trembling, slightly, and he reached out to steady them with his own. The warm, living thing they cradled leapt for joy at the touch, and he knew that she could feel it too. 

Alice’s power was that, even once she’d put his heart back in his chest, it would remain cradled in the palm of her hand. 

Will couldn’t imagine it any other way. 


	19. In the trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: teaching the other how to sleep in a tree

She forgets, sometimes, that Will’s time in Wonderland was very different from her own. 

Most of it, anyway.

He’s never told her the story of when he first came. Perhaps that was rougher. But his time as the Knave for the Queen of Hearts, the time that he won’t talk about, was plush and posh and involved very little running through the forest.

He’d had a horse for such things.

And then she’d retrieved his stolen heart, he’d helped her secure the Rabbit, and off he’d gone. Away. He has said it was to a place called “Maine” in the United States. In her world. But not her time.

She hadn’t thought about it much, since it had been a day or two later that she’d met Cyrus. 

It comes back to her, forcefully, at moments like this.

"You realize that if you sleep like that you’re going to fall to your death?" she asks, shaking her head at his awkward perch.

"That’s very helpful, thank you, Alice," he snaps. 

They’re 20 feet up in the trees, trying to steer clear of a herd of marauding Jabberwockies. Alice has slept like this many times, and she’s found herself a large branch with a fork to settle into against the trunk.

But Will is… uncomfortable.

"Oh, just come here, then," she says, unwinding the sash from around her waist. He starts inching toward her. "I’ll tie us up together."

He freezes and his mouth flaps open and shut soundlessly a few times. 

"Will? You look like a fish."

"Right," he seems to shake himself out of whatever had gripped him and scoots the rest of the way to the trunk. "I still can’t believe you talked me up here."

"I would rather sleep than fight Jabberwockies all night," she said with a shrug. He is pale, and when she reaches a hand out to help him to her branch, his grip is tight. "Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall."

He shoots her a scathing look of disbelief, and she catches herself before she laughs. He truly is afraid, and it would be unkind to mock him.

She settles him against the trunk, where she’d been resting moments before. 

"Oh, very nice, no wonder you looked so bloody cozy," he says. His color is returning with the more secure seating arrangement, and it only takes him a moment to realize her plan. "Come on, then," he says, opening his arms.

Because that’s the only place for her to go. She has but one way to secure them both to the tree. Alice scoots back a bit, just between his legs, doing her best not to press against him anywhere as she bends to loop the sash around the branch. 

"Alice," his voice is in her ear, and far more playful than he’s sounded since they started climbing. "You’re going to have to come a little closer if you want that to work."

She looks in dismay at the ends of the sash, not quite meeting.

There’s no other way to do this. She turns her sheath so that it rests across her chest and not across her back and lets Will draw her back against him. His warmth surrounds her, and she closes her eyes, just for a moment, to enjoy the feeling of belonging that always sneaks up on her when she ends up in his arms.

Then he takes the sash from her hands and ties a knot tight enough that it will keep them from any sudden movements. 

A Jabberwocky roars in the distance.

"I bet I could take him," he jokes, his voice rumbling through his chest as she reclines against him. 

"That’s a female," she says with a sigh. "The males are much smaller and not inclined to make noises."

"Right, well," he shrugs, and she feels that too. Then he mutters, "sorry" and his arms come around her. 

"There’s no where else to put them," he says.

"It’s fine," she whispers. But now he’s holding her. His strong skilled hands are curled around his own arms, but they rest just on top of hers. Their fingertips could brush at any moment.

It takes Alice a long time to fall asleep.

She doesn’t know it, but it takes Will longer.


	20. An adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: two miserable people meeting at a wedding au

It was his third time coming back around to the bar, and Alice was starting to feel a bit sorry for the “whisky neat” gent with the funny ears and the sad eyes. 

She had the drink ready, but he didn’t catch her eye for a minute. When she followed his line of sight, there was the bride, blonde and stunning in her perfect dress with her perfectly rich husband on her perfect day.

God, she hated weddings. Give her a good bar mitzvah crowd any day. 

Fewer reminders of all the ways she was a disappointment to her entire family in a crowd of teenagers. 

"God I need to get away. Someplace crazy, where no one knows me, or Ana," he said under his breath as he turned toward her. 

She gave a sympathetic half-smile that was more genuine than she expected. How often did she sit in her room and dream of just that.

"An adventure." The words slipped out and he laughed, surprised. 

"Exactly. Right, for now can I get a - ah, I see you’ve got my number." He looked a bit ashamed, but forked over the ten dollar bill anyway. 

She held the drink out but didn’t let go right away when his fingers closed around it. 

"I don’t, you know."

"Sorry?"

Alice swallowed and considered. But she did like his silly ears. “Have your number.” 

His smile was nice, too. “I don’t even think I’ve offered up my name.”

She stuck her hand out. It was overly formal and supremely awkward, but he didn’t even blink before he took it in his own with a firm handshake. 

"Alice."

"Will." He looked down at the whisky and tossed it back in one gulp. Then he scribbled something onto a napkin and winked as a friend called him away. 

She tucked the napkin into her pocket and moved on to help the next guest. 

When she looked up at the end of the night, he was gone. 

She found the napkin when she was getting ready for bed, crumpled and a bit smudged. 

It had ten digits and eight words. 

_All right then, Alice. Let’s have an adventure._


	21. Sold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: prostitute/client au

Will spots her the moment she turns the corner. She’s stunning. Long and lean, with intelligence behind those big wide eyes and purpose on her face. 

Yeah, ok. He’s sold.

"Well hello  _gorgeous._ You’re looking lonely tonight. What’s your name?” 

She snorts a laugh and shakes her head. “Did you just insult me to get my attention?”

Will just grins and waits. Everything about her screams client. She’s slightly on edge, dressed to blend, but carrying a bag that’s too high end for the look she chose.

This girl came to buy, and everyone knows he is selling. 

She stands there for a few more quiet seconds, looking him up and down, and he watches the embarrassment fade as an excited sparkle lights her eyes.

"Alice, ok? It’s Alice and you’d better have more impressive moves than that line. I hear good things."

"Bloody right you do." He snags his jacket off the stoop and hops up to walk beside her. "Then you’ve heard the going rate?"

She nods and they fall into sync effortlessly. He’s had loads of experience matching a girl’s stride, but he doesn’t even have to try.

"So where’s the party tonight?"

She’s slow to answer, and he catches the ding of a sent text message before she turns back to him. The bills are in her hand, the setup is perfect.

"Caterpillar’s house."

Will pauses halfway to reaching for the stack of fifties. 

"You’re fucking with me."

"I’m really not." He searches her face but there’s no smile in her eyes anymore. Not that anyone jokes about the Caterpillar.

"Well you should be cause I’m sure as hell not going there. And I can’t think of a single bloody reason you would."

She digs into her pocket and pulls out a wallet-sized photo. The man in it is what Will would call  _pretty_ , all curly hair and dark eyes. 

"He’s there. Grabbed him last month, thought he was dead until yesterday. Rabbit came by and… well, you know Rabbit."

Sure, Rabbit can’t keep a secret to save his life. But how does this girl with the serious eyes and the purple leather jacket know Rabbit?

"Give me one fucking reason. I’m not going after some random guy for that measly fee."

She reaches out and grabs his shirt, pulling him close enough that her lips brush his as she whispers an answer.

"Because he’s not some random guy, he’s my goddamn partner. No one at the precinct believes me. And you’re the only cop who’s ever gone in there and lived, Will Scarlet."

Someone down the street whistles, and to hide his confusion he kisses her hard, slipping his hand in her pants pocket and yanking her even closer. 

They’re both breathing heavy when he picks up his head. He can’t say no to her. Not with those credentials. And those eyes. 

He sighs and says loud enough for their admirer, “Sounds like my kind of party, Alice.”

She licks her lips and nods. “The… the car’s over there.” It takes her a minute to force a smile to her face, so he slings an arm around her and acts the part for both of them. 

What the hell did he just get himself into?


	22. Untouchable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will didn't know how much he needed her touch until he couldn't have it.

His skin is on fire, and he doesn’t remember why until he opens his eyes.

Cave. Trolls.  _Right._

That’s also why his head bloody aches, isn’t it? 

"Will? Will are you awake?" Alice’s whisper is urgent, and he scans for her in the dark. 

"I suppose I am," he says softly. "Where are you?"

"It’s not trolls," she whispers. "Well, they’re here but the real problem is…"

"Oh why spoil the surprise, dear?" Alice cuts off with a yelp, and there’s a crash of limbs on stone, though he still can’t see her in the darkness. "Let’s just all get introduced."

That voice he knows very well, and trusts not at all. “Caterpillar. Let her go, she’s no part of our business.”

"Shut up, Will." Really, he would think Alice would be a bit more grateful that he’s willing to take the fall alone here. 

"Yes, do shut up. The untouchable Knave, my guest at last. I’m having far too much fun testing my new mushrooms on you two to lose either of you just yet." Caterpillar wanders further into the room and blinks at the two of them through his absurd glasses. "Give her the orange mushroom!"

Will strains to see what’s happening. There’s a troll over at the far wall - trolls are known for their immunity to the mushrooms of wonderland - who’s forcing an orange mushroom at a patch of thin air. 

Thin air that materializes into a sputtering Alice after a few moments. 

"Now let’s see how the purple one is working." Caterpillar motions her over to Will. "I think it’s time they said hello."

As soon as she’s released, she runs to him. It would be heartwarming if he wasn’t burned everywhere she touches him. 

"Oh my god," she breathes, jumping away. "What did you do to him?"

"Still working on an opposite to that one," Caterpillar muses distractedly. "Have to stick around until I’m ready to try it out, I’m afraid."

Then he’s gone, and his trolls with him. Will looks at Alice and tries his best not to flinch when she takes a step toward him. 

"Best not to test just how untouchable he’s made me," he says with a grimace. "Caterpillar always did have a long view in the revenge department."

She works his bonds free with only a little bit of singeing, and they both sink to the floor. Their hands are close enough for him to feel the heat of her skin, but no closer. 

Will realizes how much the possibility of that touch means to him now that he’s stuck with the cold reality of never getting closer than almost.

They fall asleep inches apart. It’s the coldest he’s been in a long time.

******

They don’t find a cure until two weeks later. He’s riddled with burns, mostly from accidental touching and one or two heroic rescues. 

He swallows the bitter substance and waits to feel different. Normal. 

Alice squeezes his hand and he squeezes back hopefully before her triumphant squeal penetrates his nervous fog. 

She’s  _holding his hand_. And then she’s in his arms and one of them is kissing the other but neither is quite sure who was first. 

That night, her touch burns in a whole other way. 


End file.
